Azerbaijani president receives Estonian foreign minister - UPDATED

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has today received Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Estonia Sven Mikser.

The Estonian foreign minister expressed his gratitude to Azerbaijan’s head of state for the excellent organization of the "Heart of Asia" – Istanbul Process 7th Ministerial Conference under the motto "Security and Economic Connectivity towards a Strengthened Heart of Asia Region” in Baku.

He said he was glad to visit Azerbaijan during his country’s presidency of the EU. He also emphasized the importance of the recent European Union Eastern Partnership Summit in Brussels, thanking President Ilham Aliyev for participating in the event.

Hailing the successful relations between the EU and Azerbaijan, FM Sven Mikser expressed his hope that these ties will further develop.

President Ilham Aliyev underlined the successful organization of the Eastern Partnership Summit and noted the significance of the discussions held and the Joint Declaration adopted during the meeting.

Touching upon relations between the EU and Azerbaijan, President Ilham Aliyev said his country enjoys close partnership with the organization and strategic partnership declarations have already been signed with nine EU member states. The president said that active negotiations on the new strategic partnership agreement between Azerbaijan and the EU are underway and expressed his confidence that this process will soon be completed.

The head of state hailed Azerbaijan’s cooperation with the European Union in energy, transport and other areas. Underlining the importance of the Baku 7th Ministerial Conference, President Ilham Aliyev stressed Azerbaijan's unwavering support for the peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan.

The head of state pointed to the successful development of bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and Estonia.

President Ilham Aliyev emphasized the significance of Estonian companies' participation in the field of information and communication technologies in Azerbaijan, saying there are good opportunities for expanding cooperation between the two countries in trade, tourism, transport and other spheres.